Loyalty is Everything
by alynwa
Summary: Mr. Kaplan explains why she is loyal to Red. This takes place soon after Season 2, Episode 19: Leonard Caul.


They had been driven nearly two and a half hours in an ambulance by Red's on – call paramedics to his safe house somewhere outside Williamsport, Maryland. Once there, Mr. Kaplan made certain that Red was made comfortable in the hospital room she had had set up as soon as she had gotten a safe distance from the warehouse that had served as his operating room. She had previously contacted the appropriate doctors and nurses on Red's retainer, apprised them of his condition and arranged a doctor's visitation schedule to commence at 9AM the next morning while a private duty nurse was already there to start her twelve hour shift. Only then, did she allow Dembe and Liz to enter the room.

Dembe approached the sleeping man first, looking him over and adjusting the sheets and blanket to cover his arms against the room's chill before leaning down and kissing Red's forehead gently. "Sleep well, my brother," he whispered, "You're safe now. Kate, Liz and I will be downstairs." He straightened up and smiled shyly at the nurse before taking his leave.

Liz moved to stand beside the bed and looked at its occupant. Her emotions were swirling; she was still so angry at him for inserting Tom into her life, but that didn't mean she wanted him dead. Seeing him lying in the street bleeding from the chest and mouth had frightened her more than she could admit, even to herself. She reached out tentatively and patted his hands through the covers where they lay crossed on his stomach and noted that he smiled slightly, as if he sensed her there. "See you tomorrow," she said before stepping back to make room for Kate Kaplan.

"Goodnight, Raymond," she murmured as she bent to kiss his cheek. Nodding curtly to the nurse she said, "If anything changes, come get me" before walking out of the room with Liz following.

They went downstairs to the living room to see that Dembe had started a small fire in the fireplace and had gotten three wine glasses and three bottles of Pinot Noir. He opened all three as they settled themselves on chocolate wide – wale corduroy – covered couch. With a bottle in each hand, he poured the women a glass of wine before setting the bottles on the zebra wood coffee table in front of them. He picked up his bottle and sat in the matching recliner opposite the couch. As he filled his own glass he said, "I think we deserve wine."

Kate unbuttoned her jacket as she slid forward to grab her glass. "I know I do. You have no idea what it took out of me to leave when Raymond told me to go. I pressed my gun into his hand and kissed him goodbye thinking I might never see him alive again. Thank you, Dembe, for protecting him and thank _you_ , Liz, for getting that bastard Kotsiopulos to call off his dogs." She held out her glass until Dembe and Liz touched hers with theirs. "To another small victory," she said before taking a sip.

"When Dembe called me and the two of you and that ambulance showed up to meet me fifteen minutes later with Red inside, I couldn't believe it! I can barely believe we're here."

Mr. Kaplan explained, "There are protocols in place for all kinds of contingencies. There is no way Red could have avoided capture if they didn't exist. You've seen some of them in action and you'll probably see more going forward. After I left the warehouse, I continued to follow the protocol and secured medical transportation to the nearest safe house and waited for Dembe to contact me hoping against hope that he and Red were still alive. When he called, I was able to be back there in less than ten minutes."

Liz toed off her shoes and tucked her feet under her. "And then meet me before heading out of town. No wonder Reddington remained free all those years the government was actively looking for him. He only surfaced because of me."

"And make no mistake: If he decided tomorrow to disappear again, we would be in the wind and it would be like we left the planet. We would not be found."

The part of Liz that was still a proper FBI agent and profiler had its doubts as to the veracity of that statement, but she couldn't dispute the facts and the main fact was that neither he nor his close associates had been on the FBI's or the CIA's radar until he walked into 26 Federal Plaza that fateful day he came into her life.

"May I ask you something, Mr. Kaplan?" When she nodded Liz continued, "Why do you do it? I mean, I understand Dembe's loyalty to Red; Red saved his life on so many levels, but you? Why do you risk your life and your freedom for him and his agenda?"

"Well, there's a story attached to that," Kate replied.

Liz made a big show of checking her watch. It felt much later because it was December, but it was actually only seven – twenty in the evening. "I believe we have time and I think we're all still too wired to sleep."

"Okay, you asked for it, but give me a few minutes." Kate got off the couch and vanished into the kitchen. Sounds of drawers being opened and shut emanated from within topped off by the distinct sound of a refrigerator door. Moments later, she reappeared carrying a tray loaded with various cheeses, charcuterie and crackers. "I didn't think anyone's in the mood for a big meal, but we need something to nosh on while we drink."

"A very good idea, Kate," Dembe agreed while he helped himself to the beef sausage.

She joined Liz in removing her shoes and placing her stockinged feet on the sofa. "I started working for Red off and on in 1983. He was one of many clients I had back then. I liked him immediately; he has a quirkiness about him you either find tremendously endearing or horribly annoying and the few times a year we did business, I enjoyed his company. When Dembe came to live with him a couple of years later, he asked me to help choose tutors for him. I was impressed that he trusted my judgement. It got to the point where I had dropped most of my clients except for my best payers; four who shall remain nameless and Red."

"It continued that way for years. Eventually, one of my clients came to a bad end and another one decided I was too old to be an effective cleaner. I was feeling sorry for myself one day when Red called me to do a job for him and I asked him if he didn't think I was getting a little long in the tooth for the work. He asked me, 'Do you?' and when I said no, of course not, he said, 'Then you're still my guy, fella!' Made my day."

"I had met someone and fallen head over heels in love in 2000. I don't remember ever being as happy as I was then. She was amazing! Warm, smart, loving…" Kate's voice trailed off for a few seconds before she realized it had. Clearing her throat she continued. "I told Raymond about Linda and he was thrilled for me. A few years later, in 2004, Linda and I decided to go to Phuket, Thailand for Christmas vacation. We got there on the 23rd and planned to stay until right after the New Year."

Liz was paying rapt attention and asked, "Why does that sound familiar?" Her eyes widened with realization. "Oh my god, wasn't that when the tsunami hit?"

Kate poured herself more wine. "Yes, December 26th. Boxing Day. Linda and I were having a fantastic time. It was a gorgeous day and our plan was to hit the beach first thing in the morning before the sun got too strong and then go have lunch." Liz was shocked to see the normally stoic Mr. Kaplan's eyes fill and turn red.

"You don't have to continue," Liz said, "if this is too hard. I shouldn't have pried."

"It's all right, I want to tell you. Dembe knows the story. Our room was on the fourth floor of the hotel facing the ocean. Linda woke up a bit earlier than I did so she got ready, grabbed our towels and beach blanket and went to claim the spot we liked close to the water. My assignment was to bring the basket we had been using to carry water, wine and fruit. I was feeling lazy and actually dozed off for a bit. When I opened my eyes, I looked at the clock and realized it was almost 8:30 so I shot up and began throwing bottles of water and fruit into the basket. I jumped into my bathing suit and went to the balcony to see if I could see Linda, but when I stepped outside, the first thing I noticed was that the water wasn't there! It was like someone had pulled the plug. People were standing on the beach, Linda included, looking out to sea. Since I was up higher, I could see a big wave forming and I started screaming 'Tsunami! Tidal wave! Run, Linda! Run!' but she couldn't hear me. I ran out of the room and down the stairs. By the time I reached the ground floor, the wave was almost at the hotel and if I hadn't turned and raced back upstairs, I would have been caught up in it."

"By the time I got back inside the room and onto the balcony, it looked like I was on a ship. The hotel was completely surrounded by water. Except, it wasn't just water. It was everything; chaise lounges, chairs, bicycles, trees…people. I'll never forget the screaming. The living, the dying, me. We were all screaming because it was all we could do."

"I learned something that day: A tsunami isn't just one wave; it's a series of waves, each one stronger than the one before. I don't remember if there were three, four or five anymore. When the first one was sucked back out, I ran downstairs again to look for Linda and this German tourist grabbed me yelling in German and English, 'Another wave is coming! Death is out there if you go.' I was trying to break his grip on me when the screaming started anew and we both looked to see an even larger wave heading for land. I had no choice but to go back upstairs. I stayed there in shock as I watched more waves come."

"I don't know how long I stood there on the balcony. The waves stopped coming and I just stood there looking at the last place I had seen Linda. I couldn't comprehend it. It seemed like I stood there for hours and maybe I did; I had no concept of time."

"I started hearing a noise that sounded closer than the screaming. It took a few seconds for me to realize it was my phone. I picked it up and saw it was Red. I'll never forget it. I answered and said, hello? Red sounded frantic. 'Thank god! Thank god! Kate, I've been trying forever to get through! Are you all right? I heard about the tsunami!' When I told him what happened, he said that he and Dembe were on their way and not to worry."

Dembe, as is his nature, was sitting quietly drinking his wine and munching on the snacks Kate had prepared. He looked at Liz and said, "I told Raymond CNN was reporting this horrific event and he immediately began trying to reach Kate while I contacted his pilots to ready the jet for immediate departure to Phuket International Airport which had, miraculously, avoided flood damage to its runways. We were there twenty hours later."

Kate picked up the narrative again. "They met me at the hotel and for four days, Dembe and Red helped me search every hospital and makeshift morgue there was."

Liz leaned closer. "Did you ever…?"

"No, we never found her body. By the end of the fourth day, we were all exhausted, but I wanted to keep going. Red sat me down and said, 'Kate, we will continue to stay and search if that's what you really want, but I don't see the point. There aren't any more places to look.' I knew he was right and I also knew he would stay if I asked. I couldn't do that to them. I told him we might as well head back to England. I don't cry very often, but when I accepted the fact that Linda was gone and not to be found, I lost it. Red just held me until I regained my composure. It was on the flight back that I told him that if he wanted me, I would drop my other client and work for him fulltime. He accepted."

Liz nodded. "I understand. How could you not be loyal to the man who not only accepts you for who you are, but drops everything to fly halfway around the world to save you from a natural disaster?"

"Exactly. I will do anything for him." She picked up her bottle and poured out the last bit. "I'm taking this to my room as a nightcap. Liz, your room is to the right of Red's. It's already made up with fresh sheets and towels. Mine is on the left side. Dembe's is directly across from Red's." She stood to go.

"I'll clean this up before I go to bed," Liz said. She checked her bottle. "I have a bit left that I might as well finish. Want to keep me company, Dembe?"

"I do."

Kate nodded. "I'll look in on Red before I go to my room. If you check on him, don't you dare wake him up, Liz and Dembe, I mean it."

Dembe looked at Liz and winked. "I was going to ask him if he wished to watch 'The Three Stooges."

"Very funny. Goodnight."

They watched her head upstairs and then finished their respective bottles of wine before Liz got up to take everything into the kitchen. Dembe helped by carrying the bottles while she placed the glasses on the now empty tray. "She likes you," Dembe said, "otherwise, she would have never told you so personal a story."

"I like her, too, and it's obvious that she adores you, Dembe."

"She is the closest thing to a mother I have had in a very, very long time." He drained his glass and handed it to Liz who placed it in the dishwasher.

"I get that."

The two headed upstairs and poked their heads into Red's room where the nurse gave them a "thumbs up" sign to indicate all was as well as could be expected.

"Goodnight, Liz."

"Goodnight." As she headed off to her own bed, she marveled again at the world she had been pulled into and the people who populated it. _It's like Red is the sun and we all just revolve around him._ The part of her that was still a proper FBI agent and profiler protested how comfortably she seemed to be fitting in. She told it to shut up.


End file.
